Historically, credit unions were preceded by widespread development of credit cooperation in many countries of Europe and America. In the U.S., credit unions have a clear organizational structure. All credit unions belong to one or the other parent credit union (there are 35 of them in the U.S.). Corporate credit unions are united on a cooperative basis in the Central Credit Union (US Central Credit Union). National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) - an independent federal agency, based in Washington (State of Columbia), established by the U.S. Congress to oversee the federal credit union system. Like any financial institution, credit unions have the financial resources. The first credit union in the United States was founded in 1909. by the group of Franco-American Catholics in Manchester, New Hampshire, and was called "Cooperative Credit Association of St. Mary. " Principles of cooperative democracy and interaction were adequate to the purposes for which people joined credit unions. Members of credit unions place in credit unions usually free fund balances, ie those that remain after expenses devoted to education of children, the acquisition of new properties, additional pension benefits, etc. The value of credit unions is not limited to the role of the economic agent - they are an important element of the social structure and a factor of social stability and progress.